Rotary and folding chair.



,No. 636,405; Patented Nov. 7, 899.

A. HosMEn.

RUTARY AND FOLDING CHAIR.

fpplication led Feb. 16. 1899,) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

4m/1, AIM@ Patented Nov. 7, |899. t

A. HosMEn.

ROTARY AND FOLDING CHAIR.

Application filed Feb, 16, 1899) (no Mmm.) 2 sheets-sheet 2f LA -Q) INVENTOR) j ML2/IJ,

' ATTORNEY.

wlmisszsz- Eric UNITED STATES PATENT ARTHUR HOSMER, or FORT WORTH, TExAS, ASSIGNOR OE ONE-HALE TO J. o.. MARK, or DAVENPORT, IOwA, AND L. B. MENEEEE, OE HOUSTON, TExAS.

ROTARY AND FOLDING CHAIR.

SPECFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 636,405, dated November 7, 1899. Application filed February 16 1899. Serial No. 705,626. (No model.)

llo all whoml it may concern: indicate the same parts throughout the sev- Be it known that I, ARTHUR HOSMER, a citieral views. Zen of the United States, residing at Fort The chairs are pivotally mounted on sta- Worth, Texas, have invented a new and Imtionary supports 1. The supports have round 55 5 proved Rotary and Folding Chair, of which heads 4, preferably iiat on top, and necks 2, the following is a specification. extending down to shoulders 27 on the sup- This inventionrelates to folding chairs, and ports. Two inclined planes constitute the more particularly to folding chairs which will shoulders. The inclines commence on oppoautomatically rotate one -quarter around or site sides of the neck, and each incline eX- 6o 1o rotate ninety degrees when folded; and the obtends one-half around the neck of the support jects are to provide chairs by which the seatand stops at two inches or more below the ing capacity of a house or a hall may be inpoint at which the opposite incline begins. creased and by which is lessened the danger The chairs are held on the supports by means of lossoflife orinjuryto occupants inacrowdof caps which cover the heads of the sup- 65 I5 ed house in oase of fire or other accident and ports and which are made in two sections 3 which will allow many exits both at the sides and 5, and the sections are bolted or other: and at the ends of a house or hall and which wise secured together. The cap-sections have can be' used to great advantage wherever staianges 6, which extend partly under the head tionary chairs are needed or can be used, in- 4 and over the shoulders of the support. The 7o zo asmuch as the oors can be cleaned with less bottoms of the flanges are inclined planes 2S, labor than with other chairs or seats. Other corresponding exactly with the inclines Of the objectsand advantages willbefullyexplained shoulders. Antifriction-rollers 7 are placed in the following description, and more parbetween the adjacent surfaces of the inclined ticularly pointed out in the claims. planes, small recesses being made in the in- 75 z 5 Reference is had to the accompanying drawclined planes of the cap for this purpose. The ings, which form a part of this application. seat 13 of the chair rests on supporting-arms Figure 1 is a view showing three chairs in 9, projecting out on each side of the cap. The front elevation in position for occupation. arms-may be formed integral with one of the Fig. 2 is a view showing the same chairs with cap-sections and extend up by the sides of the 8o 3o the seats folded and the chairs turned oneseat, forming uprights 9', which extend high fourth around. Fig. 3 is a front elevation, enough to for'm rests for the arms of a persons partly broken and partly in section, with a body and are then extended back to form the part of the cap removed. Fig. 3L is a horirests and are pivotally connected to the braces zontal section through the neck of the sup- 10 of the back of the chair. There are arms 12 8 5 35 port, showing sections of the shoulders of the formed on and projecting back from the supsupport and sections of the ange of the cap. porting-arms 9, and the rear4 corners of the Fig. 4 is a plan view of the chair when the seat 13 are pivotally connected to the arms seat is folded. Fig. 5 is a broken sectional 12. The seat 13 has braces 14, which extend view of the support and the cap. Fig. 6 is a lbeyond the back of the seat and have lugs 15, 9o 4o plan view of the bottom piece of the back, which are engaged by the arms 12. The also showing in section the side braces of the back 16 of the chair has braces 10, and these back. Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the botbraces have elongated lugs 17 formed on the tom piece of the back. Fig. 8 is a broken bottom parts thereof. These elongated lugs view illustrating avariation in the cap and project forward on each side of the seat 13 95 45 the support.Y Fig. 9 is also a broken view of and have slots 19 therein, which slots are inthe same, partly in section. Fig. 10 illustrates olined upward and backward. The seat has how two chairs may be mounted on one suptrunnions 18 on the sides forward of the rear port, the view being a front view and the seat corners, which are engaged by the lugs 17, of one chair being raised. Fig. 11 is a side these lugs, with the slots 19, constituting 10o 5o elevation of a single chair.' bearings or boxes for the trunnions 18. The Similar characters of reference are used to bottom brace 2O of the back has lugs 21,

which project upward and are securely attached by riveting or bolting to the braces 10 on the outside thereof. The chairs are locked in position for occupation by keys 23. The key 23 penetrates the head t and the cap-section 5 and a socket 24, formed on the cap-section 5. The socket 2t prevents the key 23 from falling from its position when the key is withdrawn from the head 4, the socket acting as a guide for the key. The key is pivotally connected to an arm or lug 22, formed on the bottom brace 2O of the back. The operation can now be understood. The back part of seat 13 is pivoted in the arms 12 by means of lugs 15, and the seat is folded and unfolded by means of these elements. Then the seatis raised, the trunnions 18 slide up the slots 19 and in so doing force the bottom part of the back of the chair backward and the top of the back slightly forward. This operation brings the seat and the back to the position shown in Fig. at and at the same time withdraws the key from the head 4. When this is done, the chairimmediately rotates one-quarter around, the antifrictionrollers 7, which are mounted in recesses in the flanges G, running down the inclined planes of the shoulders. When the seats are folded and turned one-quarter around, they cannot be brought down, because the key 23 locks them up. The seats cannot be let down until they are brought in position for occupation. Vhen the seats are brought in position for occupation, the keys are ready to be forced in the heads again. While the seats are bein g brought down the trunnions 1S slide down the slots 19,and thus force the bottom of the back of the chair forward, and this operation forces the key in the head again. The aisles formed by the folding and the rotation of the seats cannot be blocked, because the seats are locked up, as above described. This is au advantage in case of a panic in a crowded house. It will be noticed that the seats are not centrally mounted on but off their centers on the supports. The chairs are arranged in pairs, and each pair fold up and turn their backs to each other. Looking at a pair of chairs from the front, it will be seen that the -left supporting-arm 9 of the left chair is longer than the right supporting-arm of the same chair and that the right supporting-arm of the right chair is longer than the left supporting-arm of the same chair. The advantage gained by this arrangement of the seats on t-he supports is that the aisles are made wide enough, although all the chairs are exactly the same distance apart.

Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate slight variations in the construction ot' the cap and the support. The head is left oft of the neck of the support. The cap can be lnade in one piece. Something is needed to stop the rotation of the chairs when being turned back to their positions for occupation. In the form above described the head performs this function. In the variation an arm 25 is formed on the cap, which engages a lug 26 on the side of the support for performing this function. The seats can be raised high enough to allow 7o persons to pass in front without raising the seats far enough to cause the keys to be withdrawn. The keys are withdrawn only when the seats are raised to within an inch or thereabout of the backward limit. Another Variation that may be made in the supports is the pair of chairs may have one support, with arms extending to the right and to the left,

on which would be provided the heads and shoulders, as already described. Other vari- 8o ations may be made without departing from the spirit of this invention.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A folding chair provided with a cap attached to thc bottom thereof and a stationarj)r support; said cap and said support each having a pair of inclines extending far enough to allow said chair to rotate automatically 9o one-fourth around when folded, and antifrictionrollers between the adjacent surfaces of said inclines.

2. A folding chair provided with a cap attached to the bottom thereof and a stationary support; said cap being pivotally mounted and having a pair of inclines extending one-A half around the support, said support having two inclines adjacent to the inclines of said cap constituting the shoulder ot said zoo support, and antifriction-rollers between said inclines, whereby the chair is automatically rotated one-fourth around when folded.

3. In a folding chair provided with a pivoted cap and a stationary support; a key for locking said chair in position for occupation, said cap having a socket formed thereon with the opening extending in the cap, said support having a head provided with an aperture in alinement with the opening in said cap 11o when said chair is in position for occupation, and means for withdrawing and inserting said key from and in said openings.

4:. In a folding chair provided with a pivoted cap and a stationary support; a key mounted in said support for locking said chair in position for occupation and for locking the seat of the chair in a folded position and an arm or lug formed on the back of the chair and pivotally connected to said key for 12o operating said key.

5. A folding chair provided with a pivoted cap and a stationary support; said cap having an annular interior flange provided with two inclines on the under side thereof, said support having a head above said flange and a shoulder below said flange formed into two inclines corresponding with the inclines of said flange, and antifriction-rollers between the adjacent surfaces of said inclines.

6. Folding chairs arranged in pairs and having stationary supports and caps pivoted thereon, the cap and the support of each chair having pairs of inclines extending far enough around to cause said chairs to rotate automatically one-fourth around when folded, antifriction-rollers placed in the inclines of said cap, said inclines being so arranged as to cause each pair of chairs to Jfurn their backs to each other when rotated.

7. Folding chairs arranged in pairs and having stationary supports and caps pivoted thereon, said chairs being placed off their centers away from each other and said caps and supports having pairsof inclines and antifriction-rollers between the adjacent surfaces thereof whereby said chairs turn their backs to each other and drop below the position for occupation between said supports.

8. Folding chairs arranged in pairs and having stationary supports and caps pivoted thereon, keys for locking said chairs in position for occupation and for locking the seats of the chairs in folded position, and means for releasing said parts automatically, said chairs being placed off their centers on said supports away from each other, the support and the cap of each chair having each a pair of inclines and antifriction-rollers between the adjacent surfaces thereof whereby said chairs will drop down below the position for occupation and turn their backs to each other between said supports when folded.

9. A folding chair having a stationary support, a cap pivoted thereon, supporting-arms for the seat formed integral with said cap and projecting upward and then backward and pivotally connected to the back of the chair, arms formed on and projecting backward from said supporting-arms, lugs on the rear corners of the seat of the chair for engaging said arms, trunnions on said seat forward of said lugs, bearings for said trunnions attached to the back of the chair, and a key pivotally connected to the back of the chair for locking,

ARTHUR HOSMER.

Witnesses:

JAMES GILFORD BRowNING, A. L. JACKSON. 

